Saturday, February 05, 2011

Shakib Al Hasan, a dangerous player



He is the leading all rounder according to ICC Rankings. Way ahead of Watson, Afridi or Kallis. Shakib al Hasan is the WC captain of Bangladesh.

In 2007 WC, Bangladesh created an upset beating India. Dravid's men had to quit ingloriously, following that defeat and many defeats.

Now Bangladesh take on India in the opening match at Dacca. Shakib and his men will be raring to go and India will try to take revenge.

It was that loss to Bangladesh which was responsible for India losing rhythm. Dravid and his men went on losing almost all games. In India, there was chaos. The public went mad and a mock funeral was arranged for the Indian team.

The reactions of the mob can be understood. In 2003, under Ganguly, India were the finalists. Ganguly's men performed well, despite the final loss. And here was Dravid's men not even entering the semis !

Now expectations are high in India. All experts say India are the current favourites. Australia many be numero uno in Ratings. They are the defending champions. But home conditions and the presence of spinning allrounders favour India.

Bangladesh's chances are bright, as the opener is in Dacca. They will get the 50 K odd home support and they know their conditions well.

Shakib al Hasan' services to cricket wouldnt have been there, if his talent was not spotted by Saddam Hussein, a local official. Shakib was playing football, when his great talent was spotted by S Hussein.

That Shakib is topping as an allrounder in ICC Rankings when Bangladesh is ranked 9th, speaks volumes about his class.

He is the main hope of a cricket crazy nation. They expect him and his team to perform well in home conditions.






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